HYDERABAD:
Rev P. Victor Premasagar, former bishop of Medak diocese and moderator, Church of South India (CSI), passed away on Thursday at St Joseph's Hospital at Guntur after a brief illness. He was 80. He is survived by wife and a daughter.

The body is being brought here for final rites on Friday in the CSI office-church premises at Secunderabad with church honours. Heads of a large number of church denominations are expected to attend the ceremony.

A widely known church personality, he was associated with various religious and social work activities and a top theologian. He was well-versed in Sanskrit, Greek, Hebrew and Latin apart from English and Telugu.

He was instrumental in setting up many orphanages and institutions in Andhra Pradesh and other southern States. The first Indian principal of the theological college here, he served as general secretary of the CSI at Chennai before becoming bishop of Medak and later the moderator of the CSI.He later became Asia secretary of the Council for World Mission, London.